I started the week in Seattle, then headed back to Vancouver, to hit all the art events possible.
Viewing
My goal for visiting Seattle was to swing by First Thursday in Pioneer Square. After missing last month, I was happy to! I got to see the new show up at Lynn Hanson Gallery, an annual open call around the theme of ICON. It was wonderful to see Lynn and bump into art friends.
Here’s a piece that called my name, hanging at Stephanie Hargrave‘s studio. The textures and color are right up my alley; it’s by Rosalie Frankel who reuses materials.
Organized art walks are so great for finding both people I know and new connections! So, it was important that I also get to Vancouver in time for First Saturday events there. Galleries are open, like Seattle, but so are artist studios. I made a list and plotted my route.
My first stop was Parker Street Studios, where a couple of names I recognize were in a collaborative show. Kyla Bourgh, from Atelier 8.18, who I’ve mentioned a few times now, and a printmaker I’ve followed for a while, Dominique Norville, both had work in a show called Converse/Converge. They and several other artists put their heads together, and the result was fun, bright, inventive.
Then, I was off to Paneficio Studios, where Shannon Pawliw‘s work was featured in the windows. Valerie Artnzen was within, connecting another Parker Street artist, Lisa Farrell, with some work that needed to go home with her & her partner. I remembered I’d met Lisa on my November tour through the Culture Crawl, and re-introduced myself. The connections are starting to be made!
Meetings & Making
While I was in Seattle, I was able to visit my studio, and check in on work there. Remember this big piece on aluminum? I’ve been throwing ideas at it; this time, a few more details got tucked in along the quasi-horizon line. Not ready to finish it off yet, which is good, because I don’t know how to, yet!
I find working this large really challenging, not to mention — it’s not digital, there’s no Undo button. How does everyone else manage, yikes. I did like that any papers I couldn’t place on the large work sometimes found a home in a smaller piece, my board book that is getting redone with collage.
Working both large and small at the same time is helpful. I also added to a simple collage in passing.
Adding scribbles, even to denote the layering in a piece, makes it feel more finished to me.
And I’ve been noticing, those scribbled pieces are working really well as layers. The scribble sketchbook wasn’t meant to be finished work; rather, it’s fast and not intended for, really, anything else. But when I scan the ones I kind of like, and use them as layers in my digital work, they have the same function — of adding complexity to the layers just with the scribbled lines. I’m glad, because it’s something I’ve been doing all my life, and really feels like part of my core self.
Showing
I’m so thrilled to have work headed to shows again! It was exciting enough to warrant its own post, World Collage Day Shows, a break from these work-in-progress rants. My pieces are on their way to their Vancouver event, thanks to Kyla Bourgh of Atelier 8.18, and the Seattle pieces are being added to a show in Belltown, organized by Andrea Lewicki of Special Agent Collage Collective. I look forward to seeing any of you who can make either the Seattle or the Vancouver show.
I’m already thinking about more shows to catch on my next Seattle trip. How about you? Any spring show outings planned?